Camilla Wagon, Head of the Golden Wagon Merchant Group
Camilla Wagon, Head of the Golden Wagon Merchant Group
The blue-haired woman who had just polished off the braised mackerel let out a long sigh and wiped the sweat from her brow.
Drunk on the spicy, rich flavor, she'd plowed through three bowls of rice and devoured a medium portion of braised mackerel — meant for three people — all by herself.
Now that's an appetite.
I couldn't help but admire it.
For such a slender frame, the woman could put it away.
How many days had she gone without eating?
Physically, it didn't add up otherwise.
As I was inwardly marveling, I caught sight of a slight swell pressing against her dress just above the waist — the unmistakable evidence of a very full stomach.
The moment my eyes landed there, her face flushed crimson and she hastily covered herself with both hands.
"I—I overate, alright?!"
"I can see that."
"I—It's most improper to stare so openly at a lady's stomach."
"I apologize."
"Ahem... hrmm...."
Still pressing her hands over her belly, she coughed awkwardly and began sneaking glances at me.
"So, um, if I may."
"Yes, what is it?"
"W—would it be acceptable if I continued to come here?"
So that's what she was worked up about?
"Why wouldn't it be? We don't turn anyone away. Our doors are open to all, so please don't feel any hesitation about returning."
As long as you pay, you're welcome anytime.
I smiled and extended my hand toward her.
She blinked at the offered hand, then looked back and forth between me and my outstretched palm.
Catching on a beat late, she clapped her hands together and laughed.
"Ah, forgive me. I've been terribly oblivious."
Last time she'd bolted without paying for the fried flatfish, too.
I needed to collect on that as well.
No matter how small a neighborhood business is, if you start letting people run tabs, you're done for.
A shopkeeper can, when left with no other choice, extend credit to a regular once or twice.
Because there's mutual trust built up.
But a fledgling establishment that hasn't even been open ten days? Extending credit already?
That's absurd.
Bolting out of nowhere last time — fine, I could write that off as an accident.
She placed her hand lightly atop mine.
"I am Michelle Clionel. I'm afraid I can tell you only that I am a princess from a land not far from here."
"......."
And then, showing no sign of intending to take her hand back, she simply gazed up at me.
With an utterly guileless expression that all but said, Well? Go on.
"???"
"???"
This woman wasn't paying, so what exactly was she talking about?
A question mark bloomed in my head as I stared at her.
Wait — could it be that she wasn't some neighboring kingdom's princess, or a person sent by the imperial princess, or even a noble?
Impossible that she was just wearing fancy clothes... but she wouldn't happen to be a serial dine-and-dasher, would she?
She seemed just as baffled as I was.
"What are you doing? You're supposed to kiss the back of my hand while greeting me."
She looked up at me with an innocent face, utterly free of ill intent.
There was not a trace of scheming to get out of paying, nor of looking down on anyone.
Had she actually placed her hand on mine just to receive a greeting?
What in the....
"Excuse me?"
"Yes?"
A brief silence.
Her genuinely surprised reaction made me realize the truth all at once.
This woman is a noble's daughter with a truly catastrophic disconnect from reality.
There are nobles like that.
People who've had subordinates handling absolutely everything for them from start to finish, so they possess zero real-world sense and constantly stumble over the smallest things.
There'd been plenty of them in my old world, too.
Wasn't there a saying about how the rich don't even know how much a bus fare costs?
Exactly that.
The sort who think everything is automatic because someone's always handled it for them.
"You need to pay."
"......Ah."
At those words, Michelle's face went red and she hastily withdrew her hand from mine.
"F—forgive me. I'm not yet accustomed to the customs here."
"If you are a princess from a neighboring kingdom, it's perfectly understandable."
Completely understandable.
"So, well... at the moment, I don't possess any of this country's currency that I can give you."
"Credit will be problematic."
At that, Michelle, who'd been floundering, looked up for a moment, thinking.
"Ah, it's fine! I don't have money, but I do have a jewel I can exchange for it."
She removed a blue-green shell that adorned her blue hair.
It was a shell-shaped hairpin, a curious object whose colors shifted brilliantly depending on the angle at which it caught the light.
Even at a glance, it was clearly an expensive piece, and she held it out toward me.
"This is a Jewelry Clam, considered an important treasure in my homeland. I've heard they sell for quite a high price on the continent — or rather, in the Empire."
"......You intend to substitute your payment with this?"
"Is that not acceptable?"
She bit her lower lip and looked up at me.
Even to my untrained eye, knowing little about gems, this object was worth far, far more than two meals.
No — it looked expensive enough that a party of a hundred could eat three meals a day for three days straight and there'd still be value left over.
It was too much for two meals.
"Hmm...."
I studied her for a moment.
She wore several more ornaments on her person.
A bracelet, earrings, a necklace, and gems dangling from her sash.
None of them looked any cheaper than this clam — if anything, they all appeared more valuable.
Looks like I'm out of options.
Still, I couldn't refuse to take it.
No credit, ever — that was a fundamental rule of business.
"Very well. I'll accept this."
I took the Jewelry Clam from her.
Michelle's face brightened the instant I did.
"That said, this item is far too valuable compared to the meals you've eaten."
Honesty is the foundation of business.
That holds true whether you're a neighborhood shop or not.
Too many restaurants in the world fail at even that basic principle, but I intended to uphold it.
"You may keep it. I did flee without paying last time, after all."
Her resolve was remarkably firm.
With the glittering clam now in my hand, she clasped my fingers tightly around it.
"Then I'll hold onto this as collateral. If you give your name — Miss Michelle — I'll serve you anytime."
"Truly?"
"Yes."
Michelle's face lit up.
Was it really something to be that happy about?
It spoke to a certain goodness of character, I supposed.
"The next time you come, I'll set aside a meal ticket with your name on it, Miss Michelle. Bring it with you, and you can eat whenever you like."
At that, Michelle audibly gulped.
"Thank you. I was so afraid I'd never get to eat such delicious... cooking again."
She pressed a hand to her chest and exhaled in relief.
"The pleasure is mine. Thank you for enjoying it so much."
At last, I accepted the Jewelry Clam from her.
Michelle bowed her head politely and scurried out the door.
For a self-proclaimed princess, she had remarkably good manners.
My first impression hadn't been great, but it seemed it had all been a misunderstanding between us.
And to a shopkeeper running a business, a customer who pays handsomely is the best kind of customer.
One who leaves a deposit this large in advance is even more precious.
Why had I snatched up Lancelot's Sword of the Lake without a second thought?
That knight had crossed the line.
He took three pieces with a single bite. In one chopstick-ful.
Some things I can overlook. That, I could not.
Not long after Michelle left, knights and Internal Affairs personnel came flooding in.
Right behind them were the soldiers who'd finished their morning training.
"And now the rush starts again."
Hwarreuk!
I lit the flame on the Flare Range.
***
Pat-pat.
On the road back to her kingdom,
Michelle tapped her stomach, basking in a deep contentment.
"So full. It's been so long since I had a meal this delicious."
It had been nearly a week since the fried flatfish. Eating this well was a first in days.
How could it be this delicious?
While she ate, not a single other thought had crossed her mind.
Nothing but the singular focus of consuming that braised mackerel.
She came to her senses to find she'd emptied three bowls of rice and cleaned out the entire braised mackerel.
Even her princess's dignity had been abandoned somewhere along the way.
Her cheeks burned.
She must have looked absolutely shameless.
Ugh... I've never eaten that much in my life.
She glanced down at her distended belly.
So this is what happens when you eat too much — it puffs out right here.
She'd never known.
She'd shown an embarrassing spectacle, and yet she still wanted to go back.
It had been a moment that let her forget every worry.
Even though that very restaurant was the cause of her worries.
She could hardly believe how startled she'd been when he asked for payment.
She'd only ever heard that people on the continent used money called gold coins to trade goods — actually experiencing it herself was a first.
Anxious that this incident might get her permanently barred, she'd offered up her most treasured Jewelry Clam as collateral.
The Jewelry Clam wasn't an actual living shellfish.
It was a shell-shaped gem.
Deepest in the ocean where mana essence swirled, the dregs of spent mana gathered and crystallized into this single formation. Because its shape resembled a clam, the Dragon Palace called it the Jewelry Clam.
She knew that occasionally, when things from the continent were needed, mermaids would take human form and sell these to continental merchants to procure goods.
And that they held immense value.
For a single flawless Jewelry Clam to form, at least a century was required.
The one she'd received as a gift had surely seen three hundred years pass with ease.
She'd begged forgiveness by handing over an object of staggering worth.
Thankfully, the chef had said it was fine and told her to return anytime.
What a relief that had been.
"Hm-hm-hmm~."
The assurance that she could visit as often as she liked brought a little hum to her lips.
"But... the Dragon Palace is so far away."
A problem she'd never considered when hunger had driven her to follow her nose was now very real.
From the restaurant to the coast: one hour.
From the coast down to the Dragon Palace: at least three.
"......Which means it'll almost be dinnertime when I get back."
Having eaten such an amazing lunch, to have to face Dragon Palace cooking afterward....
"I need to find a solution."
Michelle steeled her resolve and made her way back to the Dragon Palace.
***
"Danju, I've returned."
"Kobi, you're back? That was faster than I expected."
"I am a gnome, after all."
"True — no one handles a horse quite like gnomes do."
Kobi, the chief manager of the Golden Wagon, had spent two whole weeks reaching the capital. He settled into a chair and regarded the red-haired woman flicking her abacus.
Her orange eyes darted rapidly as she calculated profits and losses. She and Kobi were the two greatest merchants who'd built the Golden Wagon into what it was today.
The head of the Golden Wagon merchant group. The richest person in the empire, the emperor aside.
Camilla Wagon.
As befitted the leader of the greatest trading company, her office overflowed with opulent objects.
The lavish decoration wasn't a matter of personal extravagance.
It was meant to impose her stature and authority upon anyone who entered.
—I can throw this much money around just to decorate a room.
A display of the Golden Wagon's financial might to anyone who came calling.
Her commercial acumen seeped into every inch of the room's design.
When she lifted her head, Camilla's beautifully coiled red hair swayed gently.
"You delivered my gift properly?"
"Yes, he was pleased — quite uncommonly so."
"Oh? I like the sound of that. I did put quite a bit of care into preparing it for Sir Lucas. So, what was his response to my proposal?"
"He refused outright."
"'I would rather not become your personal chef'?"
"Yes."
As Kobi nodded, her fingers pressed down hard on the abacus she'd been idly flicking.
Crack!
Under the force of her grip, a hairline fracture split across the frame.
"I did not expect Sir Lucas to refuse my request. Ha. Ha. Ha."
Camilla Wagon clenched her teeth and exhaled a long, heavy breath.
Her expression said she had truly never imagined he would turn her down.